Phonograph-record cabinet



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A. WlEHL.

PHONOGRAPH RECORD CABINET. APPLICATION FIL'ED OCT. H. 1920.

Patented July 25, 1922.

2 SHEETSSHEET l.

A. WIEHL.

PHONOGRAPH RECORD CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. H, I920- Patented July 25, 1922.

5mm HLLFREU W/EHL 2 SHEETS' SHFET 2.

ALFRED WIEHL, 0F BROOKLYN, NEV YORK.

PHONOGRAPH-RECORD CABINET.

mares-a.

Application filed October 11, 1920.

To all w 7mm it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED 1min, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Brooklyn, county of Kings, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Phonograph-Rec- 0rd Cabinets, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, illustrative of one particular embodiment of my invention.

This invention relates to phonographs and particularly the storage in cabinets embodying phonographs, in order to advantageously preserve and protect and make readily accessible the records used for the phonograph.

In particular it involves the structure of the phonograph cabinet, but may in some elements be separately embodied. Among its objects are to thus preserve and protect the phonograph records and also to provide means for carrying in accessible form in the smallest possible space a large number of records and at the same time so carry them as to make them readily available and facilitate selection from storage. The construction also is intended to provide arrangement whereby the entire phonograph cabinet space iseconomically'used and the weight of records so carried as to preserve the stability of the cabinet and not interfere with any other features of advantage usually desired in connection with phonograph use. p Y

I have herein described a particular em bodiment of my invention with reference to the accompanying drawings,'in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a phonograph cabinet embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the record storage drawer partly open, on section line 22 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section of drawer and upper portion of cabinet on the hue 33 of:

Fig. 4. p Fig. 4; is a fragmentary side view of cablnet, top portion, in part section and sect on through the record storage drawer, on line 4-4 of Fig. 2. 1

The cabinet 1 has atop 2, and drawers with suitable handles 4,-4l.

The drawer 3 comprises 'the bottom or floor board 5, with the upper'longitudinal member 6 connected. at the front by the member 7 and in the rear connected by the vertical back board 8, with the base 5. The base .5 and the upper longitudinal member Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 25, 1922.

Serial No. 416,126.

6 are supported, and their relative movement is facilitated, by suitable roller bearings 9 and 10 cooperating in fixed cabinet members 9 and 10 In the case of the lower roller supports, the recess 9 in which the roller moves, terminates with a stop 11 preventing the drawer from being. pulled out beyond a predetermined distance. Other suitable anti-friction sliding supports for the drawer may be provided as desired.

The base 5 has grooves 12 and 13 entering from opposite sides and staggered, so that a record 1 1- may be rolled into the groove 12 and overlap a record 15 rolled into the groove 13 from the opposite side. These grooves and records, while as illustrated, are relatively thicker than in actual construction, are so shown for clearness of illustration,in construction the grooves are provided to suit the actual thickness of rec-' ords which are substantially uniform in the product of any one concernor one class of manufacture, and just sufficient space is provided to permit the records from opposite sides to pass each other with aloose fit and without any necessary pressure contact on the overlapping portion. p

These grooves also have complementary upper grooves 16 and 17 in the underside of the upper longitudinal member 6 which are staggered with relation to each other, but which provide for the vertical and the parallel holding of the records when inserted for storage. The grooves 12 and 13 preferably extend to the respective sides of the lower board 5 of the drawer and the side of the drawer provides facility for marking the successive grooves for identifying the records that may be inserted into the respective grooves. The lateral terminal of the grooves permits ready entering of the record and sliding the same into the drawer and after partial insertion the weight of therecord, such as let, will cause it to settle in the groove depression 12 having the curvature of the periphery of the record, which passes into this depression when registering with the complementary groove 16 in the lower side of the upper longitudinal member. Thesame is the case with entering records from the opposite side where the bottom groove recess 13 provides for a drop of the record due to its weight after being partially inserted, and insures its taking a definite final storage position with its lateral edge within the limits of the drawer side so that it will not protrude in any way endangering the record when opening or closing the drawer.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 4;, a tone-tube 18 occupies the rear upper corner of the cavity in which the drawer is carried, and the space it occupies is unnecessary for the parts of the drawer which are terminated by making the upper longitudinal member 6 shorter than the lower board 5, to any extent assuring the avoidance of any interference. Fur thermore, the mechanism prevents the withdrawing of the drawer beyond a point leaving suflicient support which must be ample to carry a considerable weight, involved in the storage of a quantity of phonograph records, and, therefore, the record grooves cannot be carried to, the end of the drawer or beyond a point permitting their lateral accessibility. Thus ample provision is made for a tone-arm, such as 18, and for other limited amount of mechanism which it may be desired to embody directly below the sound producing mechanism, and. consequently the record drawer may be embodied in the cabinet directly under the sound-producing mechanism, with the drawer top runner 10 providing a, substantial support for the record table shaft and driving gearing, as shown in dotted. lines in, Fig. 3, directly above the longitudinal runner member 10 Such drawer likewise may occupy a space heretofore used for a concealed horn, and when so embodied the tone-arm. connection through the tone-tube 19 is established with a tone-duct or horn 20 carrying the tone into the rear of the topcover 2, or. compartment above the tone reproducing mechanism, in any such manner. as referred to in my copending application for United States Letters Patent filed October 8, 1920.

It will thus be seen that I provide a cabinet with one or more drawers utilizing praetically all the space below the support of the record table, and upon pulling out a drawer records may be inserted from either side, and will roll into a predetermined position after they have been properly inserted, and will stack. together with their inner zones or segments overlapping and close together, so that a relatively large number of the records canbe carried in the space provided in such a, drawer. Owing to the construction of records, the overlapping edges moving into position with a parallel motion will not injure. the records even though there be only a;slight clearance, while the lateral or outer edge of each record, on each,sid.e.,.will be spaced a distance from its adjacent recordto anextent equal. to a little more than the thickness of a record, and therefore providing space to take hold of and remove each individual record without disturbing the adjacent record or records.

While records are of. varying sizes, it is now practice to have substantially uniform diameter, so that a cabinet built for a size, as, for example, a 10 inch record will be universally useful for the supply of records accumulated by any phonograph owner. At the same time an occasional smaller record may be readily inserted, and the same general structure may be provided for different sizes of records in different portions of the drawers or in different drawers of the cabinet.

On account of the weight in the front por tion, of each drawer, I may prefer in some cases to have one drawer open from one side of the cabinet and the next lower drawer open from the other side of the cabinet so that the weight of both of these will balance and not cause the cabinet to be top heavy or unsteady.

If desired, additional guide tapes or thin fabric walls may be provided extending from close to the lateral sides of the drawer tothe middle, and by so doing the'entry of each record is facilitated at the edge and is guided into the more substantial groove-in the bottom and any top groovewhich may be provided as shown, or otherwise.

lVhile various modificationsmay be made without departing from my invention, other. than the particular construction herein specilically shown anddescribed,-what I; claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A phonograph record cabin etcomprisin adrawer adapted to hold records in vertical position, afloor for said drawer, a plurality of fixed. parallel grooves in said floor, alternate ones extending from opposite sides and terminatingadjacent the middle ofv the floor, amedial.longitudinal member extending from the front of said drawer. to the-rear and having on its under side a series of grooves in planes registering with the grooves in the floor.

2. A. phonograph record cabinet comprising a drawer, a fixed front and floor therefor and fixed medial longitudinal member extendingfrom the top of the front and rip;- idly connected to the floor at the rear. a series of parallel grooves in said floor andeX- tending inwardly from each side thereof,a relatively depressed grooved section formed in adjacent grooves alternately on opposite sides of the middle of the drawer, adapted to engage a substantial portion of the periphery of a record.

3. A phonograph cabinet comprising a drawer adapted to hold records in vertical position, includinga drawer floor: and open sides, a central top longitudinal member, a recess on the floor with a maximum depression on one side of the middle of the floor and an adjacent depression instaggeredxrd lationv thereto on the opposite side of the middle of. the drawer and means on the top longitudinal member of the drawer'register from the front to the back of the drawer located with respect to the floor whereby records may be inserted to engage the floor and the top member from one side or the other side but are held against passage laterally throu h the drawer.

5. phonograph record case comprising a drawer with a closure front and a base, two series of parallel grooves in said base, one set staggered with respect to the other and located on opposite sides of a median common parting line, an abutment on one side of the parting line registering with the groove on the opposite side, whereby discs nesting in adjacent grooves automatically fall into overlapping position with an arc of their periphery engaged for firm support over a contiguous section of the disc rim on one side of the parting line.

6. A phonograph record case having a drawer comprising a floor, a plurality of grooves in said floor having walls for adj a cent grooves alternately extending from'opposite sides substantially to the middle, abutments opposed to walls beyond their extremity on the opposite side of the middle, whereby an arc of sufiicient degree substantially at the bottom of the disc provides for lateral support, and the abutment acts as a rolling stop on the other side of the middle in order that adjacent discs automatically maintain staggered positions upon insertion.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 8th day of October, 1920.

ALFRED VWIEHL.

Witnesses:

JOHN H. CUN'rz, HERMANN F. CUNTz. 

